Al Jennings II

Where's Pastor Al been?

I've taken three weeks off from pulpit ministry (teaching and preaching) to rest, relax, refocus, and to sharpen my saw. I probably haven't done anything like this in over 10 years. I've learned that when you train people well, the Ministry can run smooth without me being there. And taking some extended time off will renew and refresh my mind and body as well as increase my effectiveness. Now I'm ready to get back to work. Next week I plan to conclude the series on King Solomon's secrets to success. I'm going to share a few more things on wisdom and then move on to another exciting series that I believe will be life changing. It's called, "the principle of the path." Well, that's all for now and I look forward to seeing my Summit family next Sunday.

Simply Chillin

This weekend I decided to take a break from the encounters (in other words-vacation). Although I love what I do to the nth degree, I do realize when I need a break. Your body and mind kinda knows. It's amazing to me how much I was able to relax or chill out yesterday (Saturday) without having to think about ministry too much. I did have to deal with a couple of things to make sure that the encounters would flow smoothly in my absence. But it's great and wonderful to have a combination of seasoned leaders and new leaders in training. Teaching is just one part of my preparation. There are a myriad of other things that go on behind the scenes that many people don't know about. I'm not stressed out or anything, but if you don't pay attention to the Holy Spirit when he tells you to rest, you could get to that point. And I don't want to burn out. 

It's 9:21 AM on Sunday morning and I am in total chill out mode. I used to think that I was doing something wrong if I stayed at home and didn't go to Summit (I was okay if I went out of town:) Weird isn't it? 

Make it a great day! And if you are a Summit number, I hope you missed me and I hope you didn't :-)

Great End to an Awesome Encounter

Tonight I met a guy before the encounter named Zach.  It turned out that he was a friend of Michael Ledo who invited him. After the encounter Michael called me over to get my wisdom on a private matter that Zach was dealing with.  During our  conversation Michael had to leave, but we continued our discussion and Zach accepted Jesus as his personal Savior and Lord! Praise God! Leading someone to Jesuis always fresh and exciting and never gets old.  

Zach said he will be back next week. He enjoyed himself tonight.  What was funny was, he said when he pulled up in the parking lot and saw the strobe lights, he wondered about where he was and whether we would have drinks inside. But praise God he came on in and got a drink of living water! Oh yeah baby, we have plenty to drink. He truly had an encounter with God! Zach is the reason we do what we do in our encounters - connect people to God! 

God is Magificent

Psa. 42:7 I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. 

Psa. 42:8 But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. 

in my Bible reading today, I came across these Scriptures. They made me think of the Hillsong song, "Magnificent", that we sing at Summit Church based on these verses.  Caanan does an excellent job singing the song, don't you agree? This song is one of my favorite love songs to the Lord.   

Unifyer

I am reading a book that I highly recommend , "Tribes", by Seth Godin. Here's a couple quotes from the book that made me think about what we're doing with Unifyer. Then, I realized that we are really doing some ground breaking stuff.  Check out these quotes:

"Great leaders create movements by empowering the tribe to communicate. They established the foundation for people to make connections, as opposed to commanding people to follow them."

"The new tools and technologies available to groups are transforming what it means to think of tribal communication. Smart leaders are grabbing those tools and putting them to work."

Wake Up Everybody: Zero Fail Mission

1Cor. 9:24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 

1Cor. 9:25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 

1Cor. 9:26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 

1Cor. 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 

Rom. 13:11    This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  

Air Force One is the aircraft that flys the President of the United States around the globe. It serves as a mobile White House. The crew (from the pilot to the service staff) has an objective of "zero failure mission. " If they can do that for the President , how much more should we do it for Jesus.  They do it for a temporal crown, but we serve for a spiritual crown that is eternal.  Do you realize that what you do for Jesus will last throughout eternity? Perhaps this is a wake up call for you to stop and examine what kind of crown you are running for.  It's high time for the body of Christ to wake up out of sleep and step up to the plate of service for God's Kingdom. It's time for the troops of Summit Church to align and advance.

At Summit Church, our mission is to teach people to win in life through the Word and touching others with the touch we receive from God. we are serious about Kingdom business. Our ministry objective for this year and beyond is "Zero Fail Mission."

Niyoki at Summit

 We enjoyed having Niyoki at this weekend's encounters! 

Saturday Nights!

It's Sunday morning and I'm enjoying a bit of quiet time in the Summit Connection Spot before people get here. We had another awesome Saturday night encounter and things are really taking off. There is a lot of new faces and excitement about the encounters. I am excited about the possibilities. I'm also enjoying teaching the message about King Solomon's Secrets to Success. It's stirring me up about my own visions and dreams. My life is changing as a result of this series and it is my hope that others are getting the benefit out of it as well.

New Sax player

People have been inquiring and commenting on the saxophone player that played the last Sunday in October. You may have thought that it was a surprise. And if you did, you were right. It surprised me too. Actually, he wasn't supposed to play that Sunday. This was his first time in attendance at Summit and Floyd asked him to come that Sunday and just observe. But when he came, Floyd asked him if he had his sax with him, and he did. So Floyd told him that he might work him in for a song, and he did. And boy did that cat play! He went after it! And he showed up in a tux! Is playing blew us out of the water. It was like it came out of nowhere and it raised the level of the encounter. And get this, this kid is only 18 years old. He is on a music scholarship at IPFW. He graduated from Northrop high school. His name is Austin Schafer and is now officially a part of our music team. Please take the time after the encounter to greet him as well as the new percussionist Deniron Robinson. The music ministry team is expanding and I am excited!

Request

Calling all summit folk! I am looking for a name for the area where we have the espresso bar and wordshoppe. The purpose of this area is to have a place where members and friends can hang out before and after the encounters. One suggestion is the "connection spot". Any ideas?